ASEAN Policymakers Express Concerns On Steel Standards In The Region - Liew
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 (Bernama) -- ASEAN policymakers have expressed their concerns over the need to ensure that only the highest standards of steel are used in the construction of high-rise buildings in the region, said Investment, Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Liew Chin Tong.
He said policymakers have now agreed to propose to their respective governments to consider the formation of an ASEAN Council on Steel.
Liew said the council will bring together government officials responsible for steel to discuss common issues in a more structured gathering.
"The worries were the reactions to the earthquakes in Thailand and Myanmar, as well as earthquake risks in the region. Even Peninsula Malaysia has to worry about earthquakes after the occurrence in Segamat recently," he said in a statement today.
According to Liew, while the steel industry associations in ASEAN engage each other via the Southeast Asia Iron and Steel Institute (SEAISI), the governments of ASEAN nations do not seem to talk to each other about the steel industry.
"Usually, trade officials of ASEAN would meet regularly, but those responsible for industries rarely venture out of the country.
"Industrial development is treated as a domestic matter and often individual countries see themselves in competition with their neighbours for foreign investments," he added.
Liew recently co-chaired the inaugural roundtable on the steel industry with SEAISI secretary-general Yeoh Wee Jin, which was attended by government officials from Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, and Myanmar.
He noted that the meeting also discussed other issues, including steel capacity management, decarbonisation agenda, trade issues such as dumping and countervailing, as well as technology transfer, training, and skills development.
-- BERNAMA